Honda Cars India Ltd. revealed that Elevate is the first of the five SUVs for Indian market
The Japanese brand re-opened its account in SUV space of India by unveiling Elevate compact SUV. At this event, HCIL revealed some key strategies it has on its cards for the Indian market. For starters, Honda Elevate will be on offer in India first and more global markets will follow soon.
The company intends to make its Indian manufacturing plants, its export hub. Elevate will be the first of five SUVs planned by Honda. Elevate Electric launch has also been confirmed. This will be Honda’s first fully electric SUV for India and launch will happen within the next three years (by 2026).
Honda Plans 5 New SUVs
Takuya Tsumura, CEO and President of HCIL, promised a strong product strategy for India. Of these 5 new SUVs, one will be Elevate and second will be an electric SUV based on Elevate. It is not clear as to which will be the other three SUVs.
Considering competition launch plans, there could be a smaller entry level SUV to rival the likes of upcoming Punch EV and the Exter EV. While the other could be a mid-size electric SUV, bigger than the Elevate. It will rival the upcoming XUV700 electric and Safari electric.
Also, Honda intends to bring its global models to India again via CKD or CBU route to fortify its portfolio in the country. As of now, Honda only has Amaze sub 4m sedan and City compact sedan on sale in India.
The company will manufacture Elevate at its manufacturing facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan. Honda is likely to increase production capacity to incorporate Elevate and upcoming future vehicles. Honda currently has 326 dealerships across 238 cities and all of these dealerships will see an upgrade in customer interface along with Elevate’s launch.
Honda’s product positioning with Elevate
Compact SUVs are currently one of the highest-selling SUV segments in India with over 36K units sold in April 2023. Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos dominate this segment while Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara has entered top 3. This is a highly competitive segment and Honda is betting big in this space with Elevate. Given that India is one of the fastest-growing markets, there is scope for growth.
